Explainer: the numbers behind UEFA's game-changing HatTrick assistance programme
Monday, April 27, 2020
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By channelling EURO revenue back into football development, UEFA ensures every player can enjoy and excel at the beautiful game – regardless of ability, income, gender or age.
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Since 2004, European football's governing body has distributed a significant proportion of UEFA European Championship revenue among its 55 national association members to score a different kind of HatTrick:
Goal 1: increased investment funding
Goal 2: improved education
Goal 3: wider knowledge-sharing
In the past 15 years, funding for UEFA's HatTrick programme has doubled in size. Today, it is recognised as one of the largest solidarity and development initiatives in sport, contributing more than €150m annually to football – from the strengthening of women's football and the construction of pitches for local communities to ground-breaking social responsibility projects.
Here we share the numbers that underscore the impact of this game-changing programme on European football development.
INFRASTUCTURE
- More than 3,000 new mini-pitches laid.
- 34/55 national training centres developed to prepare players, coaches and referees.
- 60% of national stadiums either modernised or built with support of EURO revenue.
EDUCATION
- The UEFA Academy runs courses for coaches, players and specialists working in football.
- Over 1,500 graduates of more than 100 nationalities form the nucleus of an ever-expanding network of football professionals.
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
- Over 450 projects funded through the UEFA Women's Football Development Programme in all 55 of UEFA's national associations
- More than half of these projects have created opportunities for girls and women to play football.
FOOTBALL AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
- Since 2016, HatTrick has helped to fund more than 80 social and environmental projects.
ADDED VALUE
- The full value of UEFA's overall investment in football stretches far beyond the playing field. For every €1 of tournament revenue invested in football development through HatTrick, national associations, governments, local authorities and clubs have contributed an additional €3.63.
- It is estimated that the participation of eight million registered players in football clubs across 15 UEFA countries has generated a cumulative total of €31.2bn* in economic and social benefits as well as healthcare savings. This research is driven by a specialist UEFA team, known as Grow, which provides national associations with data and services to ensure they make the right strategic choices about their future.
*UEFA is able to put a precise economic value on the benefits of mass participation in amateur football thanks to an econometric model designed by nine European universities. This draws on football participation data from 15 UEFA countries – Belarus, England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia and Sweden. The final cumulative total of €8.5bn includes:
- €5.2bn in direct contribution to the economy through football consumption and employment (direct and indirect) as well as revenue generated from infrastructure investment and facility hire.
- €9.8bn in savings through the social impact of football and projects focused on cohesion, inclusion and integration, e.g. reduction in crime, improved education performance.
- €16.2bn in healthcare savings due to the positive impact of moderate to rigorous physical activity reducing the risk of conditions such as type II diabetes and heart disease.
Recognised by the European Union, Council of Europe, the World Health Organization and the UN as academically robust, the model is based on registered play data and more than a hundred peer-reviewed research papers across different disciplines. These include health, education, employment, sociology and sport.